and a whole lot more…

$EA reported a drop in 4Q17 earnings due to last year's benefit from income taxes. Net income fell to $566MM or $1.81 per share from $899MM or $2.79 per share last year. Revenue grew to $1.53Bil from $1.31Bil.

$EA's FIFA mobile unique player base sees a sequential growth of 18MM or 19% to more than 113MM in 2Q18. As the digital game sales continue to drive sales, Electronic Arts CFO Blake Jorgensen said, "We saw a notable shift to digital in our sports titles and remarkable growth in Ultimate Team."

$EA shuts down its Visceral games studio, the developer behind games like Battlefield Hardline, Dead Space 3 and currently working on new “Star Wars” game. The gaming company said that it is revamping the "Star Wars" title and will be delaying the launch, which was originally slated for late 2019.

Digital entertainment firm $EA has announced the launch of
the Madden NFL Club Championship, together with the National Football League.
The championship is a competitive gaming and esports event in the Madden NFL
Championship Series, involving all the 32 NFL clubs.

Revenue by platform-based, $EA said there was a 26% growth in Xbox One, Playstation 4 for 1Q18, while other consoles dropped 55%. PC/Browser revenue climbed 34% and revenue from Mobile rose 4%. However, other revenue dropped 76%.

$EA expects 2Q18 net revenue of about $955MM, net loss of about $57MM and loss per share of about $0.18. The company estimates a GAAP basic and diluted share count of 310MM shares due to a expected net loss. If the company reports profit instead of a loss, diluted share count for calculating diluted EPS would be 314MM shares.

$EA expects FY18 net revenue of about $5.075Bil, net income of about $1.125Bil and EPS of about $3.57. Operating cash flow, reflecting the recently adopted accounting standard related to stock-based compensation, is expected to be about $1.575Bil. $EA estimates a share count of 315MM for calculating FY18 diluted EPS.

Game developer $EA reported a jump in 1Q18 earnings driven by higher digital net revenue, and lower income taxes provision. Net income rose to $644MM or $2.06 per share from $440MM or $1.40 per share last year. Revenue grew to $1.45Bil from $1.27Bil. Event-driven live services has fueled the growth for this quarter.

Games developer $EA said Battlefield 1 had more than 21MM players joining the game as of end of 1Q18. The Sims 4 on PC had seen more than 20% jump in monthly active players. There were more than 95MM unique player base in FIFA Mobile and more than 70MM unique users were engaged in NBA LIVE Mobile.

Gaming company $EA will launch a new ‘EA Originals’ game titled A Way Out in early 2018, in partnership with Hazelight. The new game, a co-op only game uniquely tailored for two players to work together, comes from the team that created the critically-acclaimed indie title, Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons.

On the M&A front, $EA said it has passed on few opportunities as the valuations of the companies were high. The company continues to have its eyes and ears open, but said there is not a long list of companies of scale that it can go after.

Starting in 1Q18, $EA said it will adopt FASB ASU 2016-09 related to stock-based compensation. The new guidance will require $EA to change how it reports the cash effects of stock-based compensation in cash flow statement. It does increase operating cash flow and decrease cash flow from financing activities.

$EA expects 1Q18 net revenue of about $1.425Bil, net income of about $605MM and EPS of about $1.93. The company predicts a share count of 314MM for purposes of calculating 1Q18 EPS. Net sales is expected to be about $750MM.

$EA expects FY18 net revenue of about $5.075Bil, net income of about $1.125Bil and EPS of about $3.57. Operating cash flow, reflecting the recently adopted accounting standard related to stock-based compensation, is expected to be about $1.575Bil. $EA sees share count of 315MM for purposes of calculating FY18 EPS.